[starman]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

The typical android user will not be installing themes.

Nor will they be using Outlook
Nor will they be syncing with their computer
Nor will they be able to use a standard headphone jack

So who the f* is this thing aimed at? Geeks that like it just because it has "open source" attached to it?

[CharlesS]

This particular phone ≠ Android.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by starman 

So who the f* is this thing aimed at? Geeks that like it just because it has "open source" attached to it?

That's the feeling I'm getting also, the Slashdot crowd will love it.

It sucks now but google always has sketchy U.I.'s. In 2 years it will be 10x better.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

That's the feeling I'm getting also, the Slashdot crowd will love it.

It sucks now but google always has sketchy U.I.'s. In 2 years it will be 10x better.

Lack of headphones jack is not exactly a UI issue

-t

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Lack of headphones jack is not exactly a UI issue

-t

The hardware isn't that big of a problem as within months there will be plenty more companies making half decent hardware for it other than that HTC crap. It seriously looks like a mockup or dev kit more than a finished product.

[SSharon]

this POS makes me appreciate my first gen iphone even more. it may not be perfect, but the iphone is the best first gen apple product I have ever purchased.

[Kerrigan]

I think the iPhone is on a very thin line between fashion accessory and PDA. The Android is just another PDA, and so I doubt it will do well initially.

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by CharlesS 

This particular phone ≠ Android.

This is true. However, for a launch phone they chose a particularly sucky one. They should have gone with something like the Touch HD if they wanted to make a splash.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

This is true. However, for a launch phone they chose a particularly sucky one. They should have gone with something like the Touch HD if they wanted to make a splash.

I was thinking the same thing. I am aware that the G1 is not the same thing as Android, and that there will, no doubt, be future Android phones that aren't pieces of crap, but Google's really not doing themselves any favors by having this be the first exposure the average consumer gets to the Android brand.

[starman]

Not to mention calling it "G1". What's the first rule of tech? Never buy first gen. Fail.

[Luca Rescigno]

This makes me think of the Motorola ROKR E1. Remember, the first "iTunes phone"? It sucked and everyone hated it, because it had way, way too many compromises and restrictions on the hardware.

As much as I want to like Android phones, the G1 is not the best way to start things off. No matter how "open" the OS is (and I don't even think it's technically open source; I can't find the exact phrase anywhere, just the singular word "open"), it doesn't help at all if the phone was designed by the marketing department and has excessive network-level restrictions.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by starman 

The proprietary headphone jack.

Wow! And I thought the recessed headphone jack on my iPhone was bad...

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

This is true. However, for a launch phone they chose a particularly sucky one. They should have gone with something like the Touch HD if they wanted to make a splash.

I don't think Google "chose" this phone for a launch - more likely, they licensed a few different companies to make Android phones, and HTC was just the first one to come up with a working phone using the OS. And the reason for that is probably that the hardware is based on one of their existing phones, thus reducing the amount of time needed to design the thing. It's almost a given that the first phone that came out wouldn't be the be-all and end-all.

Don't worry, there'll be better Android phones than this one.

[- - e r i k - -]

I have no doubt that there will be better Android phones out there and I welcome them to the market. The sooner we get rid of Symbian and WinCE the better. The iPhone needs healthy competition, not just lipstick-on-a-pig iPhone wannabes like HTCs other phones.

[ctt1wbw]

Here's a good video of it:

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/...d_lacks_p.html

I think it looks pretty good.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

The OS really looks like something Palms next OS would have looked like if it came out in 2002.

I watched that video in mute and the guy using it seems to have no clue how to use it because it isn't that intuitive. He tries to move home icons to the next page but it doesn't work the few time he tries to drag it to the edge.

I still don't get why the hump is on the bottom with those hardware buttons and scroll wheel. How come you can surf the web, write emails, play music using the touch screen but you still need buttons to answer a call? I never find myself confused on what to do when my iPhone rings.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I watched that video in mute and the guy using it seems to have no clue how to use it because it isn't that intuitive. He tries to move home icons to the next page but it doesn't work the few time he tries to drag it to the edge.

That was actually pretty hilarious. Dude clearly tried to do it the "iPhone" way, but it was a big FAIL.

-t

[vmarks]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

The OS really looks like something Palms next OS would have looked like if it came out in 2002.

As a former Palm user (last used one in 2001, had been using since 1998) I really wanted the Palm to shift to what they called "Cobalt" which was the OS based on BeOS, when 3Com bought Be. What they should have done is what Apple did with OS X - make the new OS the default, add an emulation layer to run old apps for compatibility, and work with developers to go native as quickly as possible. The gains would have been HUGE.

Instead, they did what Palm always does. Sell the OS, buy it back, sell it, buy it back, license it out, sell it, oops, not able to buy it back the last time. And then Access (who bought the OS properties last time) was surprised when they couldn't get any licensee to take the risk on Cobalt, as it was unproven. Then they decided they'd force Palm to go to a linux based system. Palm decided to hedge that bet and go with PocketPC as well. Every conceivable wrong turn, Palm took.

I still don't get why the hump is on the bottom with those hardware buttons and scroll wheel. How come you can surf the web, write emails, play music using the touch screen but you still need buttons to answer a call? I never find myself confused on what to do when my iPhone rings.

It's worse than that. I ran the emulator on my Mac, and when you try and 'touch' the screen during a call, it advises you that you have to use the hardware buttons while a call is in progress. WHAT? That's the best thing about an iPhone, is splitting and merging calls by touchscreen, and you make me use goofy hardware buttons?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

The hardware buttons for me are also stupid as when the phone rings the screen shows you who it is calling, you then have to refocus your eyes to the area bellow the screen to find the answer button.

[Teronzhul]

Do you refocus your eyes from the tv to your remote every time you want to change the channel? Do you refocus your eyes on the keyboard every time you type? With four buttons I would hope that most people could develop muscle memory to find one of them.

[ctt1wbw]

Originally Posted by starman 

Not to mention calling it "G1". What's the first rule of tech? Never buy first gen. Fail.

I don't think Google made the phone, just the UI. I think the phone is actually made by HTC, which makes cell phones currently. Therefore, I don't think this applies as don't buy first gen...

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Teronzhul 

Do you refocus your eyes from the tv to your remote every time you want to change the channel? Do you refocus your eyes on the keyboard every time you type? With four buttons I would hope that most people could develop muscle memory to find one of them.

Perhaps but I don't see any advantages just insecurities with this method.

[- - e r i k - -]

A big meh really. It just seems so "Me-too". I think this will compete and eventually replace other so called smartphones before it directly competes with the iPhone.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/

Click the emulator on the top right and get a taste of how bad and ugly this interface is. Pretty hard to use also.

[The Godfather]

In the MacBreak Weekly podcast, a developer gleefully praised the iPhone platform as a powerhouse for games. I somehow doubt that the Open Handset Alliance will standardize in GPU features and I think developers will have a hell of a time making their games work on every Android phone.
Also, it is left to be seen if the cellphone companies will continue liking the idea of any application using their network (VoIP over 3G).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

The only thing I like about the UI is they way you can pull down the menu at the top and have access to your messages. Pretty neat. Also looking at the 360 view of the hardware it seems the chin on the bottom is actually at an angle which makes it even worse than I thought.

[gradient]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

http://tmobile.modeaondemand.com/htc/g1/

Click the emulator on the top right and get a taste of how bad and ugly this interface is. Pretty hard to use also.

Do you really have to dial phone numbers using the qwerty hardware keyboard??? I can't find a way in the emulator to do it any other way - that's messed up if true, through I think I must be missing something.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by gradient 

Do you really have to dial phone numbers using the qwerty hardware keyboard??? I can't find a way in the emulator to do it any other way - that's messed up if true, through I think I must be missing something.

Ya I was wondering the same thing. That was really weird.

My guess is the "overwhelming Developer support" will mostly be patches and hacks to make the interface look and act better.

[turtle777]

Android killed my grandmother.

Oh, wait, or was that Zune ?

-t